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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Let's think of some ways that you can exercise your frugal personality and also perhaps help this old Earth a bit.

Reusing aluminum foil and plastic zip/fold-over bags has always been a great way to stretch your pennies. Just be sure you don't reuse the bacteria that clings. Yep a few cracker crumbs or something can be "sudsy-water-washed" out and you're o.k. A bologna sandwich baggie washed out might be trickier and remember you don't want any of the bacteria to travel with the foil or baggie when you reuse it.

I cut tops off the bottles of lotion and use a small-blade plastic scraper (spatula) to get the lotion clinging to the side and very bottom out. I then put it in a small margarine tube (w/ lid) and use it all. Jergens stress lotion is particularly thick and hard to get all out unless you do this.

Any cooking water is great to save to use for soups, sauces, or veggies. (Now you may want to draw the line on collard greens or turnip greens ?????) You save this vitamin rich and flavorful broth in Coolwhip container or (square is better if you have it) other containers and place it in the freezer to use later. Veggie water or meat broth (chicken, ham, fresh pork, beef) is great, and you can use the water from cooking potatoes or pasta as well. You can use it for soups. If you don't add salt to the initial cooking, this liquid can even be used to reconstitute concentrated soups that you purchase. The meat broths can be used to cook fresh veggies as well as the base for soup. These veggie and meat broths make great liquid bases for your sauces and gravies as well.

I don't save liquid from cooked fruit. Usually it takes such a little and I usually add sugar so the fruit is cooked pretty "low." These liquids left over are simply great to "eat out of the pot" or pour over a bit of ice cream. Now if you cook your own preserves or jams from fresh fruit, and if you somehow end up with more liquid that your preserves need, you have an absolutely wonderful syrup to pour over your waffles or pancakes.

Pepperidge Farm and Arnold breads are close to $4 a loaf now. So ever-so-often I go by the outlet and stock up. It costs $1.89/loaf there. Usually though, they have a "featured" bread or so on the counter that is going for $1 a loaf. Also, on Tuesdays they give 10% off to seniors. (just another perk for going grey) So every three weeks or so, I run by and buy our bread They have crackers at about $1 box as well as cookies. Sometimes they have Godiva coffee. I bring it home and place it in a plastic bag, and place it in the freezer. Yesterday I got a pack of 8 Pepperidge whole wheat hamburger buns ($2.89/pkg) for $1. Really nice buns.

When I save my "bread bags," I make sure to shake out all the crumbs. I then "roll" them. Later, when I need a baggie, I can then peel one off and they take less space to store.

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